Colombo, October 26
Mahinda Rajapaksa staged a dramatic political comeback on Friday, becoming Sri Lanka’s new Prime Minister after President Maithripala Sirisena sacked premier Ranil Wickremesinghe, triggering angry reactions from the Finance Minister, who termed the former strongman’s return an “anti-democratic coup”.
Rajapaksa, 72, tweeted a photo of himself and Sirisena after the swearing-in ceremony. The sudden development came after Sirisena’s broader political front United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) announced that it has decided to quit the unity government with Wickremesinghe’s United National Party (UNP).
Mahinda Amaraweera, Agriculture Minister and UPFA general secretary, said the decision had been conveyed to Parliament.
Reacting sharply, Minister of Finance and Media Mangala Samaraweera said the appointment of Rajapaksa is “unconstitutional and illegal, an anti-democratic coup”. The unity government was formed in 2015 when Sirisena was elected President with Wickremesinghe’s support, ending a nearly decade-long rule by Rajapaksa.
The sudden political development ends an over three-year-old coalition government that was formed by Sirisena and Wickremesinghe on a promise to combat corruption and financial irregularities. Sirisena, who was Rajapaksa’s Minister of Health, broke away from him to contest the presidential elections.
Political analysts said Sirisena’s move to install Rajapaksa as the PM could lead to a constitutional crisis as the 19th Amendment to the Constitution would not allow the sacking of Wickremesinghe as the premier without a majority. The Rajapaksa-Sirisena combine has only 95 seats and is short of a simple majority.
Wickremesinghe’s UNP has 106 seats on its own, just seven short of the majority. President Sirisena’s party withdrew from the ruling coalition after simmering tensions between him and Wickremesinghe. The unity government was thrown into a crisis after Rajapaksa’s new party pulled off a stunning victory in local elections in February, seen as a referendum on the ruling alliance. — PTI
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